


Fire and Ice

by NothingYouCouldLove



Category: Hannibal (TV), Hannibal Lecter Series - All Media Types
Genre: Chesapeake Ripper, Fire and Ice, Light Angst, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, NYCL, Therapy, Tragic Romance, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-25
Updated: 2013-05-25
Packaged: 2017-12-12 22:01:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/816538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NothingYouCouldLove/pseuds/NothingYouCouldLove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You and I are like fire and ice, Will. We exist in harmony as long as we are in our natural state, but together we exist only to destroy each other. There can be no in between."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fire and Ice

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by _Fire and Ice_ by Within Temptation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1CmH_de6qk

In the darkened room that Will Graham knew far too well, he sat across from his psychiatrist and only "real" friend, Doctor Hannibal Lecter. In recent days, the man had distanced himself away from Will and their adopted daughter, Abigail. Both were concerned, but Will's concern was for another reason entirely.

More and more of the murders that Jack had had Will on had been pointing in the direction the Chesapeake Ripper, someone Will was beginning to empathize with closer and closer with every case. Even so, that wasn't what worried him - not even his worsening hallucinations, sleep walking, and losing time made him so afraid.

Calm, collected, professional, dedicated, and completely unsuspected by anyone around him. Someone who was lonely but unwilling to admit it, and found himself clinging to the only other psychopaths who might bother to love a monster like him.

_This is my design._

Hannibal placed his notepad on his lap and looked to Will with nothing but concern showing in his eyes. His patient and friend had been unusually silent; he normally barged into his office spouting off what was bothering him without even waiting to be asked, but there was something different about the man today. He looked disturbed. "Will? I can see something is bothering you. Why don't you share?"

Will took a breath and rubbed his forehead with one hand and said very carefully; his voice was shaking, "I don't think you'll...like what I have to say."

Hannibal held his hands out to his sides a bit. "Try me."

"We, uh," Will rubbed his forehead again, "Jack, I mean, looked into your theory about the Chesapeake Ripper being organ harvesters."

"Oh?" Hannibal crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair fiddling with his pen. "And what did you find?"

"Jack thinks there might be a possibility, a large one actually, that you're right...that the...murders have been the result of organ harvesters..."

He nodded. "As he should; it's the only possible explanation. No one person could possibly stomach the tragedy he causes without going completely insane."

Will looked into Hannibal's eyes and knew his answer before either one spoke again. He now ran both hands over his face.

The psychiatrist narrowed his eyes at Will's movements. There was something else bothering him other than Jack's acceptance of the organ harvester theory, and Hannibal knew what it was before he even had to ask. Regardless, he still did: "Do you not believe it?"

Will leaned forward, his arms on his knees, and said just as carefully as before, "You know I don't."

There was a brief moment of silence between them as Hannibal set his notepad and pen aside and leaned forward himself. He resumed eye contact with Will, but stayed perfectly calm. "Have you told Jack?"

Will drew in a breath. "No."

"Why not? If you caught the Chesapeake Ripper, you know what that would mean for everyone, not just the F.B.I."

"Because I..." Will bowed his head, his forehead resting in his linked hands. "I don't want to believe it."

"...What if I confessed?" He watched as his friend's head shot back up so he could look at him again. "What if I told you right here, right now, that I am the Chesapeake Ripper?" He leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs again. "Would it make a difference to you?"

Almost instantly, Will shook his head. He didn't even need to think about it.

"Why is that?"

Slowly, Will let his mind work, trying to find something to say to Hannibal in response that might sound profound or meaningful, or even intelligent in some way. But he couldn't find anything that didn't make his mind feel confused and jumbled, so he just said, "I...I don't know."

"I can tell you why." He waited for Will to give him the signal to say it and said bluntly, "You've fallen in love with a psychopath, and you don't want to believe that your heart has chosen the wrong person. You will continue to deny it to everyone, even to Jack...even if he discovers the truth."

For too long, Will just stared at Hannibal and knew what had just been said was true. He buried his face into his hands. Of all people to fall in love with, it had to be Hannibal Lecter, the Chesapeake Ripper! What bothered him more about it was how calmly Hannibal was taking the news that he had simply read from him like he had been an open book. "How long have you known?"

"I have not known in a conventional sense. I always feared it would happen, more so in the past month. It is the reason why I have been trying to pull myself away from you."

"And Abigail?"

"You and her are a package deal, in a way. I hated having to abandon her, but I couldn't let you destroy yourself because of me."

"Then what have I been doing when I look at the bodies you leave behind? I haven't been getting better."

Hannibal chuckled, but there was no humor behind it. It simply seemed like the proper reaction. "I know that. I could see it."

Suddenly Will stood up and paced around his chair. "But you didn't stop...you didn't stop killing even knowing that Jack would push me to investigate the murders. Why?"

Hannibal watched Will carefully, unsure what the man was going to do when he said what he did next. "You and I are like fire and ice, Will. We exist in harmony as long as we are in our natural state, but together we exist only to destroy each other. There can be no in between." He locked his eyes with Will's again when he looked back, understanding what was trying be said. "None."

In that moment, Will felt his heart stop. He just watched as Hannibal rose from his chair and straighten out his jacket. When the other man stepped closer to him Will's heart started back up again, but was thumping painfully in his chest. Once Hannibal was close enough for Will to smell the aroma of the psychiatrist's expensive cologne, Will said as bluntly as Hannibal had, "I'm not the only one who's fallen in love with a psychopath in this room."

"It's true." Suddenly Hannibal grabbed Will's chin gently but firmly and gave him one passionate kiss. He didn't care when Will froze and barely reacted to the kiss; it was to be expected from him and Hannibal had known it would be his reaction.

When the blonde pulled away, he couldn't help but to smile a little bit. Will's face was as red as an apple, and Hannibal could nearly feel the heat coming off of it. He smiled a little wider when Will finally managed to stutter out the question of what was going to happen from that moment.

"Run," Hannibal told him, "and don't tell anyone where you're going. Not even me. I don't want to destroy you, but Jack will push you until I do." He stepped aside and gestured to the door leading out of the office. "Go."

Will looked at Hannibal like he was crazy. "You could come with me. The Chesapeake Ripper could disappear forever."

"Fire and ice cannot coexist, Will. Like I said, there can be no in between." He kissed Will's forehead and then physically led him to the door. "If things change, I will find you. Trust that."

After the longest few seconds, Will nodded. He didn't understand why, but he trusted Hannibal beyond a shadow of a doubt. "Until we meet again then." He nodded his head at Hannibal awkwardly; he was still confused in his mind, though he knew exactly what he felt in his heart for the first time in years.

As Hannibal watched him go, he smirked just slightly.

He closed the door and walked back over to his desk. While he hadn't been lying to Will about not wanting to destroy him, and about loving him, there was another goal he could obtain without the distraction that Will was causing him. He pulled out a piece of paper that had a work-in-progress sketch on it. A body, bigger, and impaled on what was either a stake or a spear. Hannibal hadn't decided what it was going to be yet, he just knew that the body would be Jack Crawford's.


End file.
